POINT OF ORDER
Republic’s insipid show gives cause for concern
ON a grey night in Dublin, this was a colourless performance by a Republic of Ireland team in urgent need of inspiration.
The final act of a forgettable game saw Shane Duffy cautioned for simulation in the box as he begged for a penalty. That his tumble prompted the loudest roars of the night said it all.
Improbably, the only chance Ireland mustered last night was when the Danes stopped playing and gave Jeff Hendrick the ball and an open run at goal, yet even then they could not score.
Playing at home against a Denmark team without Christian Eriksen, Ireland were anonymous until deep into the night when Callum Robinson brought some much-needed verve.
Republic boss Martin O’Neill admitted his side need to do more going forward but was satisfied with the result and performance.
‘When we get the ball and play it, we look absolutely fine,’ he said. ‘I thought the very fact Denmark made the substitution they did, with (Andreas) Christensen, a top-class defender, coming on for the centre-forward — maybe they were hanging on for a point in the end.
‘We allowed Denmark too much possession early on, they grew into the game whereas we were sitting back. We have to create a few more chances. That said, I don’t think Denmark created too many chances.
‘The clean sheet was very important. Rebuilding again. Give us that confidence again.’
While O’Neill may point to the positives, the reality is that Ireland are a team that is regressing, not rebuilding.
Ryan Giggs, even without Gareth Bale, must be licking his lips ahead of the Welsh visit on Tuesday.
Should that result go belly-up for Ireland, the position of the manager will come under greater scrutiny.
O’Neill signalled in advance his intention to play three central-defenders and wing-backs for the first time in competition, which he duly rolled out, which meant overdue recognition for Matt Doherty.
But the Irish formation was confusing. It looked more like 3-6-1 than 3-5-2 as Shane Long was left isolated on his own, apart from the odd Hendrick foray.
Cyrus Christie, a right-back, was curiously stationed in central midfield with James McClean pressed into more defensive duties as a left wing-back, when he should have been further up the park as a foil for Long, out wide.
While it meant Ireland had a fairly solid green line across the park, nothing was created from open play until Christie’s shot from distance in the 71st minute. For the most part, it was up to the old reliable of set-piece plays to try and rattle the Danes. Waiting for the big men to come up from the back as their chief attacking option is indeed a worry of where the Republic are right now.
Ireland’s early intent was evident as they tore into tackles, at times with more zeal than was required.
McClean, Christie and Harry Arter all left their calling cards and, when the latter had his second swipe at felling a Danish leg, he was rightly cautioned.
On his recall to the team, Arter had been involved in a rather bizarre fifth-minute incident when he sat down on the glistening turf, apparently nursing his foot.
The Danes were in possession at the time and midfielder Thomas Delaney generously pointed to Arter, stopped playing, and was dispossessed by Hendrick.
As there was no whistle from Spanish referee Javier Estrada, Hendrick sallied forth inside the Danish box where he only had Kasper Schmiechel to beat.
His finish reflected a player with one international goal as he comfortably missed the side netting, which may have been just as well as the Danes were not best pleased.
As for the visitors, Pione Sisto clipped the outside of the upright, with Randolph beaten, in the 44th minute.
Just before the hour, Simon Kjaer’s got ahead of Duffy, but his goal-bound header was whisked to safety by Arter.
Had the Danes displayed more enterprise, they would have won. As it is, they extended their competitive record to one defeat in 15 games.
As for Ireland, that’s four meaningful games without a win. Clouds are gathering overhead.